


Sigils and Symbols

by type_username_here



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Absent John Winchester, BAMF Dean Winchester, BAMF Sam Winchester, Brother Feels, Brotherly Bonding, Brothers, Dean Winchester Has Magic, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Dean Winchester, Protective Dean Winchester, Protective Sam Winchester, Sam Winchester Has Magic, Sam Winchester's Demonic Powers, Teen Dean Winchester, Teen Sam Winchester, Witch Dean Winchester, Witch Sam Winchester, Young Sam Winchester
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-28
Updated: 2020-09-28
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:53:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26691742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/type_username_here/pseuds/type_username_here
Summary: “Sammy?” The crack in his voice is too noticeable and Sam flinches. Dean takes a shaky inhale and pretends that panic and confusion aren’t meddling together. That they aren’t causing the uncomfortable tightness in his throat and the irritation behind his eyes.This notebook screams witchcraft and magic, and if there is one thing that Dean knows, it’s that magic is bad and only bad people use magic. Magic is for sorcerers bent on sacrificing virgins or witches who raise the dead, not for sweet little brothers with puppy dog eyes. That shit kills anything it touches.Sammy is not a killer.(or)The one where Sam finds magic and Dean has never been able to turn his brother down.This, is what comes of broken boys with too much power. This is what they become.
Relationships: Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester
Comments: 3
Kudos: 68





	Sigils and Symbols

It comes up on a late night after a rough hunt and too many stitches. Dad’s gone,  probably  drinking himself to death over  old scars , so Dean and S a m are left alone in some motel room in the middle of  nowhere with nothing but the soft  noise  from an old TV and  a couple of half-melted ice packs to soothe dull aches .  Sam’s been alternating between scanning  one of the lore books Bobby gave him and scribbling  vigorously in  what Dean is  pretty sure is supposed to be his  math  notebook . The  kids so caught up in whatever  he’s doing  that he  doesn’t even  notice when Dean sneaks up behind him and peers over his shoulder. 

The page is filled with hastily  scrawled sketches of sigils and symbols, each decorated with Sam’s messy  writing .

“ Whatcha doing there Sammy?”

Dean grins at the way his brother  jerks at the sound of his voice, so wrapped up in his own little world that he  forgets  anyone else is still there , and  takes  the scowl he gets with glee.

Sam’s  angry  glare  is  given  away by the blush that is quickly reddening his ears as he  pointlessly tries to push an unruly strand of hair  away to hide his mounting  embarrassment .

“Research,” is  the huffed reply before  he ' s trying to cover his notes. Unfortunately,  his big brother’s  still  taller  and faster , so the book  is snatche d from  his  poor grip  in a matter of seconds.  Dean  looks  utterly  delighted as he dangles it out of  Sammy's ’ reach , fully enjoying the whining as  he takes in the  satisfaction that comes with  having the upper hand  on a little  sibling .

“Geez man,” Dean happily  goads , “What is this thing? Your diary?”

The reaction is  instantaneous , A  squawk of indignation and  flailing arms held at bay only by Dean’s  extensive  experience as an older brother. He ruffles through pages  upon  pages of notes,  covered in Sam’s messy  scribbles depicting sigils and symbols from all sorts of  different backgro unds .  He’s pretty sure that he flips past a few detailed spell instructions and algebra formulas as well , but that takes the back burner on this . The paper is worn  and some of the ink has started to fade where Sam has brushed his finger over important sentences  time and time again in an attempt to find some deeper meaning .

The room is suddenly too  quiet, and Dean is  eerily aware of the  drop of sweat from humid the summer night  that ’s in the process of dribbling down the  back of his neck.

“Sammy?” The crack in his voice is too noticeable and Sam flinches . Dean  takes a shaky inhale and  pretends that panic and confusion  aren’t meddling together . That they  aren’t causing the uncomfortable tightness in his throat and  the irritation behind his eyes. This notebook screams  witchcraft and magic , and if there is one thing that Dean knows,  it’s that magic is bad and  only  bad people use magic. Magic is for sorcerers  bent on sacrificing virgins or witches who raise the dead , not for sweet little brothers with  puppy dog eyes . That shit  kills any thing it touches . Sammy does not kill.

It  doesn’t make sense.

He’s looking for an answer,  anything to  explain  this situation, when Sam whispers, “It’s not what it looks like Dean.”

_ Snap _

“Not what it looks like? Not what it looks like! Well excuse me Sam, but this looks  a lot  like  fucking witchcraft !”  He’s vaguely aware that  he’s yelling but Sa m snaps his head up and look at him  with fire in his eyes  and Dean doesn't think that  he ’s ever seen such  raw  rage before in is entire life .

“ Oh, come  off it Dean!  As much as dad likes to spew shit about how evil magic is, we both k n ow better!  It’s not like  it’s even dangerous, I got half of this lore from Bobby himself for fuck’s sake ! Just cause you like to go out with dad and take no precautions  doesn’t mean I do. Jesus Dean ,  I’m so fucking tired of having to see you walk through  motel  door s cut up and bloody, o r-or  of having to sew you up and  mop  your blood off the floor after you pass out. Do you  realize I knew how to patch your skin ba c k together before I knew how to ... hot to divide fra ctions!  How fucked up is that?  So what if I want you to be a bit safer?  So what if I want you to be a little more protected? I'm fucking  terrified  Dean!”

For all of Sam’s angry , loud words, tears  and snot dribble down his face and his fists shake from where they are clenched at his side. Dean  can’t tear his gaze away from his brothers’ eyes, filled with so much pain and fear and it looks so dreadfully wrong on such a young , innocent face.

He is suddenly acutely aware of the fact that he  can’t think of a single response. How c an  he? His brother h as  just  spilled his greatest fears and frustrations to hi m, told Dean that he was so , so desperate,  that  he was willing to resort to magic.

_ Where had they gone wrong? _

(Dean  doesn’t want to think about the answer to that.)

Bobby has  said that he should try to take a deep breathe before he opens his mouth,  ( might  “ give his min d time to catch up to the utter bullshit his mouth will inevitably  try to spew ” ) .

Another shaky  breath later and Den is ever-so-gently placing the notebook onto the table with shaky hands and  scraping a chair across the floor to sit on .

“Okay,  alright Sammy-fuck. I, I... ”

Sam pulls out the other chair with a cautious look and  he  is so thankful that his little brother understands that  Dean is  _ trying _ .

Sliding the book across the table , he raises his eyebrow in an open question. 

_ A look that should only be  _ _ reserved _ _ for scolding parents, not teenage boys. _

“It’s just-,” the kid sighs, “it’s just...  y ou and dad always come back hurt and I’m stuck here with no guarantee that you’ll even come back at all . A nd  if  there’s even a possibility that  you’re just a little bit safer?  I want you to take it! And  don’t worry about me going evil Dean \- or losing my shit and all that ! I asked Bobby all about it last time we  visited, and he said that m a gi c is only bad if your intentions are bad and he gave me all of these books to look through and I even managed to get that last psychic you met up with to give me some info.  I'm being so careful, I promise! It's  only to keep you safe.”

_ “To keep you safe.” _

_ That’s _ _ supposed to be my job.  _

_ Keep Sammy safe. _

_ Don’t _ _ let anything happen to Sammy. _

_ Sammy’s your  _ _ first priority _ _. _

_ I want Sammy to be fine when I get back. _

_ Take Sammy and run! _

_ Keep Sammy safe. _

Dean looks at Sammy and sees himself looking back. 

A little boy who never got to be little, never  w as  as  innocent as everyone thought, who had seen too much and knew that tomorrow  wasn't a guarantee. He looked at Sam and saw so mething so  young  and so incredibly broken.

Sam shifts in his chair and Dean  realizes that  he’s been staring at  him  with this hurt, sad look that he already knows S am’s  misinterpreting .

Sam is afraid and worried, and the realization makes something inside  _ ache _ .

“Okay. .. Alright . I’m not  gonna stop you. ”

Sammy looks  up  at him  with these huge eyes so fast Dean’s worried that the kid will get whiplash with how he  snaps his head up . He raises his finger to stop Sam before his brother  c an even ope n his mouth.

“ But!  Don't think that I  won’t be calling Bobby about this. And before you do anything, you better run it past me. In fact,  I’m going to want a full , in detail explanation  every time, a m I understood?”

Sam is nodding his head with the biggest smile Dean has seen in forever. It s tretches across his lips and his eyes , –though still teary- light up with joy . Suddenly, he has an armful of little brother clutching the back of his shirt and  ruining  it with snot and tears .

When they finally separate, Sammy looks up at  him with that smil e and eyes that are  _ so  _ _ alive, _ and Dean can do nothing but smile back and  ruffle the kid’s hair.

As the last of the sun sets, the y munch on  melting  ice cream bars as Sam  rants and raves about everything  he’s learned  while the TV plays quietly in the  background and the  ice packs lay forgotten , melt ing into puddles on the table.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi y'all!  
> So this is an idea that I've been playing around with a lot lately. I really like the relationship between Sam and Dean in the earlier seasons and I really like the idea of some BAMF overpowered characters, so I'm trying my take at some stuff.  
> Feel free to comment about literally anything, even if it's just an idea that you have about the story (or how it should go) because that shit actually fuels me.
> 
> Love y'all <3


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